HDN Think Piece – New Housing and Asylum Rhetoric

Janani Paramsothy of Newbridge Advisors LLP writes about how the housing sector should respond to the issues raised by the temporary accommodation of asylum seekers in hotels. By centring the debate on fairness and human rights, Janani shows that the asylum system reflects deeper patterns of exclusion and inequality, reinforcing the housing crises in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country.

Housing associations are on the front line against rising instability in our communities. It is time to start acting on this.

It might not be the fight the sector wants, but it is a fight that has arrived at its doorstep regardless, and it is time to start thinking about the implications seriously.

The virtual ink had not yet dried on the commemorative articles reflecting on last year’s racially motivated riots, when we again witnessed the targeting of hotels housing asylum seekers across the country. It is clear that the issue is here to stay, requiring considered and consistent action.

It seems that much of the anger stems from the housing crisis itself this time, and the dearth of housing for those who need it. One might consider this legitimate anger and despair, it not supportive of the apparent xenophobia at play in this particular model of displaying it.

Many a voiceless being has been blamed for why over 1.3 million people are on social housing waiting lists and 170,000 children are in temporary accommodation in England. First, they came for the endangered newts, next for the endangered people, and tomorrow they will come for us all. We all know of course that these are not the real issues, but they are easy political focal points, stood alone and easy therefore to concentrate ire on.

And concentrated ire has been, with years of successive seeding of the idea that it is immigration and not public funding decisions, the mass transfer of public goods into private ownership, or inequality causing the lack of homes, NHS appointments and school places. Having learnt seemingly nothing from the country’s exit from the European Union, public figures have persisted with endorsing inaccurate news to deflect blame.

Asylum seeking is not a crime

Anyone is entitled to seek asylum in the UK, regardless of how they got here. This is a core human right, enshrined in international law, notably in the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Asylum seekers differ from other immigrants as they are unable to return to their home country due to persecution. It is because of this fear and reality of violence that there are such stringent protections. Increasingly, there have been fewer safe routes for asylum seekers to arrive in the UK, in turn increasing the reliance on other routes.

My own parents were asylum seekers, fleeing ethnic cleansing in Sri Lanka in the 1980s and I have spent my adult life working with asylum seekers in turn. These people don’t share any special criminal genes – all they do share, for the large part, is trauma, vulnerabilities and direct experience of unspeakable horrors. In most cases, a housing crisis would probably be a dream to contend with, in comparison to what they have arrived from.

The Government has a statutory duty to provide accommodation while asylum claims are being processed. This is in place to prevent destitution as asylum seekers have very little independent means, bereft of significant wealth, and often barred from work or access to benefits.

It is in this context that the country’s existing criminality has stepped in, further traumatising a vulnerable population in addition to putting them back into physical danger. It is a sad reflection on where society has reached.

What does this have to do with the housing sector

In addition to the obvious overlap with the housing crisis highlighted in this summer’s fresh wave of hotel protests, by the sector’s own articulation of purpose, it stands at the heart of community building, and by extension, of community cohesion. Taking this responsibility seriously means tackling the issues presenting themselves head-on, investing in education and prevention.

This needs to go beyond simply distinguishing ourselves from the problem, or ensuring it does not become a problem within our patches by directing it elsewhere. While this might seem like the easiest option in the immediate term, it does nothing to resolve the underlying causes, further isolating the increasingly fewer places where asylum seekers will have to congregate.

What can associations do instead

1. It is absolutely critical that housing associations and providers implement a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and xenophobia. A critical part of this is naming the behaviour for what it is and clearly communicating the organisation’s stance internally and externally. While a few homelessness organisations have publicly put their names to open letters organised by migrant and refugee groups, they are still startingly few and far between.
2. Investing in public education and awareness material, starting with employees and customers. Greater understanding of why asylum seekers are supported with accommodation while their claims are processed and how that interacts with social housing policy would counter the disinformation and false dichotomies being drawn. There should be no place for terms like “illegal immigrants” in the housing sector.
3. Ensure adequate support is in place for employees and customers who might be at risk as a result of the rise in community instability influenced by the far-right. This would include identifying these groups of people due to risk factors and putting in place mitigations, additional protections and wellbeing programmes based on their bespoke needs.
4. Standing in solidarity with those providing housing to asylum seekers by not supporting identification through the process of elimination. Those providing critical services are already under threat without further exacerbation. Further, the rush to distance individual organisations, sites and boroughs from asylum seekers lends credence to the view that they are problematic to start with.
5. Interrogate the diversity of those making decisions about community investment, engagement and EDI. Do these spaces reflect the characteristics of the communities you serve? Do they include critical lived experience in relation to these issues and a variety of viewpoints? If not, it is worth thinking through how to urgently hear those voices and build the expertise into your decision making processes. This doesn’t just need to be about recruitment campaigns, it can also be about how you consult on your communications and ideas in this space, and whose views are given weight to.

For a fuller checklist and more ideas, please see the checklist compiled by the HDN during the 2024 riots here, as well as the excellent article by Mushtaq Khan here.

For a conversation about how to do this, or any barriers which you foresee, do get in touch!

Think piece by

Janani Paramsothy
Associate Director, ESG & Sustainability
Newbridge Advisors